1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the turning and orienting of folded papers, envelopes and similar articles, and is more particularly concerned with power means for selectively turning and orienting such articles.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the handling of articles such as envelopes, folded papers and the like, it is frequently necessary to re-direct the articles. Sometimes the re-direction is simply to cause the articles to follow the course of the processing apparatus; other times re-direction is necessary to assist in re-orienting the articles for the next processing step. By way of example, a folded paper may need to be rotated to present the loose edge to a tabbing means, or any article may need to be re-oriented for application of a routing code, or postage, etc.
The prior art turning apparatus comprises primarily belt conveyors and the like, sometimes in conjunction with hold-down rollers to urge articles against the conveyor belt. It is also known to utilize stops adjacent to belt conveyors for selectively orienting articles. One such apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,137.
The prior art thus provides no versatile turning and orienting apparatus. Each device is designed for a particular turn and cannot be easily re-adjusted to cause a different turn. Turning and orienting devices therefore are usually custom designed to provide very specific turns of articles, with specific final orientation.